Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms

by Geoffrey Engelstein, Isaac Shalev

Building Blocks of Tabletop Game An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms compiles hundreds of different mechanisms, organized by category. Each has a description of how it works, discussion of its pros and cons, how it can be implemented, and examples of specific games that use it. Building Blocks can be read cover to cover, used as a reference when looking for inspiration for a new design, help solving a specific problem, or assist in getting unstuck in the midst of a project. This book, the first to collect mechanisms like this in the tabletop game design field, aims to be a practical guide that will be a great starting point for beginning designers, a handy guidebook for the experienced, and an ideal classroom textbook. Key Features

Genres: Game Design, Games, Nonfiction, Gaming, Design, Reference

492 pages, Paperback

First published July 8, 2019

Reviews

[Marcelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice reading for use as a reference when it comes to tabletop games mechanics. As an amateur, I design games as a hobby, and it was very useful to learn and to wide my knowledge about different ways to do things in boardgames.

Maybe one feature I'd like to this book to have is an index for the mechanics. Each one have a code and a number, but this wasn't really useful with no way to have a look to a item list and a page to go to that item.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the hobby expands, so does the range of subjects available for books. With “Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms”, authors, Geoffrey Engelstein and Issac Shalev, have written a book focused on the analysis and categorization of Game Mechanisms. Let’s take a look at what this important work has to offer.

The book weighs in at a hefty 500+ pages and is predominantly laid out into thirteen chapters, featuring topics such as, Game Structure, Auctions, Worker Placement, Area Control, Set Collection, etc.

Each chapter is further subdivided. For instance, there are 16 distinct types of Auctions listed in the Auctions chapter. Each of the subdivisions have their own means of classification, such as; AUC-01 Open Auction or WPL-01 Standard Worker Placement. It reminds me of the “Dewey Decimal System” used in libraries.

Each subdivision receives a name, a classification, a graphic, a description, a discussion and a list of sample games.

Name: Standard Worker Placement
Classification: WPL-01
Graphic: Daniel Solis provides a graphic element at the top of each of these sections. He does a nice job of conveying the essential elements of the topic at hand with a well designed minimalistic graphic and uses the same graphic design throughout the book.
Description: The description section is devoted to a short paragraph that explains what the particulars are for the current topic. These are typically two sentences long.
Discussion: This is the “meat” of the book. It is here that the authors provide various insights into the subject matter.
Sample Games: At the end of the classification is a list of games related to the subject matter. For instance, for WPL-01, there are 19 games listed.

The back of the book features an index of games and some, but, not all, of the classifications that they use.

A sample listing: "Russian Railroads", Ohley and Orgler, (2013): ACT-16 Tech Trees/Tech Tracks/Tech Bonuses, WPL-03 Acquiring and Losing Workers, WPL-05 Adding and Blocking Buildings.

Overall, this is an important addition to the library of Game Designs literature. The authors do an excellent job of distilling all of the relevant information into a concise package and further enhance it with the inclusion of many examples of contemporary games. While certainly ambitious in its scope, the results are scholarly and useful for both game designers and gamers interested in knowing more about the subject matter. While not every mechanism is included, many of the essential ones are, and perhaps we’ll see a second book dealing with some of the others. If you are a game designer this is a must have book for your library!

[Daniel Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design, authors Geoffrey Engelstein and Isaac Shalev aim to provide both "a stepping-stone to building a common vocabulary [and body of knowledge] among game designers" and "a compendium of game mechanisms, grouped together thematically, that map the territory of modern gaming." This is not a 'how to' on game design; rather, they've "chosen to look at the building blocks of games themselves: the mechanisms [or mechanics]." So think of this "not [as] a recipe book but rather a catalog of ingredients and how they can enrich a dish."

Across 13 major sections, they look at 203 different mechanisms, attributes, or facets of game design. (In a given section, the different mechanisms might be variations of each other.) Each mechanism has a description, discussion (including the possibilities and potential pitfalls), and sample games. This list, as the authors state, is not comprehensive: they recognize that they cannot hit on every single thing out there, but try to focus on some basic elements to help both beginner and designer alike. In addition, it can be hard to cleanly delineate between some mechanisms—some things could fall into multiple categories—so they do their best and mention related or alternative groupings.

I got this book to help my goal of designing a board game one day. I intended to use it as a reference only, but was unexpectedly engrossed and ended up reading it straight through. (Well, I read each section introduction and mechanism description, and read or skimmed the mechanism discussions as suited my fancy.)

This is a wonderful book; I really enjoyed it. It covered mechanics I knew, ones/variations I didn't, and gave me plenty of ideas for both mechanics to think about and games to try. I will say, though, that my enjoyment is due in part to having played and reviewed a lot of games. Of the 838 games the authors mention, I've played ~80 of them (and, to date, I've reviewed 188 games on my blog). So if you are already familiar with tabletop games, I think this is a fantastic resource. If you are brand new, you might be overwhelmed.

[Jacob Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly as advertised: an encyclopedia of game design mechanisms that, while not comprehensive or a master-class in application, casts a broad enough net to inspire and invite further research.

It’s concise, clear, and includes example games that use each chapter’s mechanisms to varying degrees of success.

There’s enough here to really run with when it comes to game design, and while not all sections will pertain, there’s something for every game designer (or game designer at heart) here.

[Mikko Saari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erittäin käytännöllinen lähdeteos näin lautapeliarvosteluja kokoavaa sivustoa rakentavalle – tässä esitelty luokittelutapa on hyödyllinen ja kiinnostava, joskaan ei mitenkään lopullisesti valmis.

Jos harrastaa lautapelien suunnittelemista, tästä saa paljon ajattelemisen aihetta – etenkin jos oma kokemus erilaisista pelimekaniikoista on vajavaista.

[Hồ Vinh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design is a thoughtful compilation that breaks down the essential components of board game design. While it won’t teach you how to create a game from scratch, it equips you with precise terminology to describe game mechanisms to fellow hobbyists. It offers a designer’s lens, allowing readers to appreciate games from a technical perspective and pinpoint the nuanced differences between them.

It’s no surprise that BoardGameGeek began incorporating many of these features after the book’s first edition—its influence on the hobby is clear.

The book is structured around two major categories: general elements and specific mechanisms. It discusses how these are implemented across various games.

🧩 General Elements
These include:
- Game structure: Whether players share common objectives or compete with conflicting ones; how turn order is determined; and the types of actions available to progress the game.
- Outcome resolution: Whether outcomes are deterministic, probabilistic, or dependent on player performance.
- Endgame conditions: How games conclude—either through a fixed condition or by tallying victory points to determine the winner.

⚙️ Specific Mechanisms
The book also explores mechanisms that have evolved into genres themselves:
- Sources of uncertainty: Hidden information and randomness shape player experience.
- Economic systems: Asset allocation and resource management.
- Auctions: Used to ensure fairness and strategic bidding.
- Worker placement: Selecting actions in turn order.
- Movement rules: Creating dynamic situations that force players to adapt.
- Area control: Defining conflict and territorial dominance.
- Set collection: Where the value of a set exceeds the sum of its parts.
- Card mechanisms: Including drafting, deck-building, and hand management.

🎲 Applying the Framework
Here’s how I now describe some of my favorite games using the book’s terminology:
- Carcassonne: A competitive, turn-based game with tile placement and worker placement mechanics. Players score points by completing features on the map, and the game ends when all tiles are placed. The player with the highest score wins.
- Splendor: A competitive, turn-based game focused on card drafting and engine building. Players collect gems to purchase cards and earn prestige points. The first player to reach 15 points wins.
- Catan: A competitive, turn-based game featuring dice-based resource generation, card drafting, and area control. Players build settlements and cities to accumulate points, and the first to reach the victory point threshold wins

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction for Tabletop Game design.

If you want to create TTGs, you need a copy of this book, the amount of creative game mechanics included is astounding. I have in the deep, distant past worked on some TTGs, one commercial, three or four for fun and was a hardcore player for many years. I've read many of the older books on the subject, but most didn't age well.

I wish I had a copy of this back then!

You can buy this book directly from the publisher, as of the date of this review, only Amazon's price is slightly lower.

https://www.routledge.com/Building-Bl...

[Zedsdead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ambitious. Sets out to build a standardized vocabulary for game designers, developers, and players.
Discusses how to apply game theory and strategy to real world problems: election mechanics; economic incentives; maximizing fairness in a democratic society.

And in reverse, how real-world concepts are ported into game mechanics. Eg, intransitive comparisons (rock-paper-scissors mechanisms) and Prisoner's Dilemma choices.

Identifies a problem that I see often in cooperative games: When all players share the same info and the game state is not too complex, alpha player behavior becomes likely.

I read through the first 175 pages and it was interesting to see how the author categorized and organized the multitude of game design elements. Were I to make a serious attempt at a design, this would be an invaluable resource.

[Bryan Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very useful resource for anyone making or thinking about tabletop games. It sets up a series of important game features, then identifies 8-24 variations under each. Each entry is clearly written and grounded by a good number of examples.

Game features include:
-structure (# of players, cooperative vs competitive, legacy games)
-turn order
-actions
-resolutions (how to resolve actions)
-victory conditions
-uncertainty (ways of limiting information)
-economics (money and trading in-game)
-auctions
-worker placement
-movement
-area control
-set collection (how to assign points and other value to items, including the board)
-card mechanisms

I found this very useful from start to finish. It's a shame the book is so expensive, otherwise it'd be on my gaming shelf.

[Adam Sequoyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors give such great introductions about their approach in this book. It's a brilliant concept, executed well. But you'll notice right away one understated (or unstated) element throughout: the board game-like iconography depicting each mechanic and category.

They explain, with words, each game mechanism. But they don't rely only on words to explain these hulking systems of complicated and nuanced ideas. They do what great board games do: use iconography to communicate complex ideas succinctly. It's just like looking at a traffic sign and seeing not lines and circles but a vulnerable pedestrian walking across a road. Our brains instantly transmute those stencilly images into a framework that immediately makes sense. And it's pure gold.

MPA ratings: G

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This “encyclopedia of mechanisms” is an excellent way to help people develop a common language in discussing tabletop board game design and play.

I don’t always agree with every distinction made, but using these definitions makes for a great starting point!

Being a textbook, I found it difficult to read straight through, and thus it took me long enough to finish that a second edition has since come out. This book is important enough that I will probably seek to acquire that edition as well.

[Jonathan Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geoff & Isaac have done an incredibly diligent job of creating a practical reference for tabletop mechanisms with example games which allow for deeper research through reviews, rules, or playthroughs. Many times I've been given inspirations or solutions for development problems in lots of designs. Thankful for these two professionals dedicating so much time for categorization, research and communication!

[Daniel]

Quite helpful! (A bit dry, naturally, but that was only to be expected.) My one quibble is that, when providing examples of the different mechanisms, the authors presume knowledge of a broad array of board games that many readers (myself included) don't have.

[Matthew Rohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very solid. It's exactly what you'd expect.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good discussion of the different mechanisms that make up a game. Helpful for analyzing, and I suspect useful for a designer looking to formalize their design process. Recommended.

[Swapnil Agarwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of design choices in board games. The text is easy to read and to the point.

[Bill Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do love this book, I have a copy of the 2nd edition. I love it.

[miss omissis]

dato che è arrivata una seconda edizione e in queste settimane ho il board game design itch riletto con piacere infinito e capendolo tanto di più, magico da consultare sempre

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little encyclopedia. Suggested read for aspiring game designers, even if a bit dry.

[Daniel Griliopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books about game design, not just board game design. I recommend it to everyone.

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Root ideas of board game universe

[Vitu Nasuca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interessante como o nome do livro cai perfeito para a ideia dele, ele é uma enciclopédia (como ta no nome) onde o autor analisa mais de 200 mecânicas de jogos, porem sem se aprofundar muito nelas, 2-3 páginas no máximo para cada, porém faz isso de forma a gerar "blocos" com as mecânicas dos jogos (como também diz no nome), ae em vez de abordar jogos de forma individual, faz quem ler ter uma noção geral de qualquer jogo, por exemplo:

Uno, em vez de ter uma analise do jogo, o uno "está" nos vários capítulos com cada uma das suas mecânica: jogo competitivo, de jogos com cartas, jogos com turnos sem variação, jogos onde só tem um vencedor, jogos onde se segue o naipe e etc,vc encontra blocos do que seria o jogo Uno.

O livro também dá uma quantidade boa de exemplos para todas as mecânicas, me surpreendeu bastante o livro.

[Ryan Langewisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full video review here: https://youtu.be/h7aCM491j6s

In Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design, the authors set out to provide an academic-level classification of tabletop game mechanisms, providing clear definitions and grouping the entries into logical categories. In total, it covers over 180 unique mechanisms, and each entry includes a brief description, an example illustration, a discussion of its use and implications, and a list of example games that utilize it.

The book is really one of a kind; no other book breaks down tabletop game mechanisms in this kind of comprehensive manner. If you are considering reading this book, there aren't really any comparable alternatives that might be a better fit, this is really the only one that exists. It is great to see though, as the production of a book like this really shows a maturing in the art and craft of tabletop game design. It helps to provide a more concrete vocabulary for designers and gamers alike to use when describing the DNA of games.

In my read-through of the book, I found the discussion of the mechanisms interesting as it detailed many examples of how mechanisms are implemented in specific games, and how that affects the overall player experience. However, the effectiveness of these examples may be very reliant on your own exposure to modern board games. The fact that I was familiar with 95% or more of the games referenced meant that I could vividly picture the examples and supply additional context from what I knew about the games. Not knowing many of the games may make it more difficult to get the most out of the examples, or may require some extra research on the part of the reader to seek out that additional context.

The book walks a fine line between the objective definitions you would expect from an encyclopedia, and the opinions and insights from the authors. I think they did a good job of balancing the two, and the analysis presented definitely lines up with widely accepted best practices and provides insights to the reader that are valuable and rooted in the authors' voices of experience.

One of the biggest benefits that game designers may find in this book is how it simply sparks so many ideas as you are reading it. It is easy to start thinking of ways that a specific mechanism might be used, or a variant of it that may provide other interesting possibilities. I could see it being a very useful reference for not only when you want to read up on a specific category of mechanisms, but also when you are feeling stuck in a design or just need a little bit of help getting those game design juices flowing.

This brings up the point of whether this a book that is worth just reading once. I very much enjoyed my read-through, but it is also a bit like drinking from the firehose as you move quickly from mechanism to mechanism. I think the greater value comes in having this as a book that you keep on the shelf and can come back to as needed. Yes, you could rent or borrow the book and get value out of reading it once, but it is a harder sell as you are missing out on the value as a recurring reference.

Which leads us finally into the price. Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design is not a cheap book. And for many people, that is going to be an immediate dealbreaker regardless of its quality. For me, there are three things to consider on this point:

1. The book is really one of a kind. You won't be getting this content elsewhere at a cheaper cost.

2. It is really structured more like an academic textbook, which maybe gives some context to the pricing.

3. This book has an extremely niche target audience. It is not the kind of book that is going to be a best seller, so as someone who falls right inside of that niche, I want to support resources like this being made for the hobby and craft that I love. Things like this won't get created if they can't manage to sell modestly, so I want to help make it viable to add more resources of this quality to the hobby.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and appreciate the work that the authors put in, and I know that I will return to it over the years and find new ways to glean value from its contents.